The See & Be Seen Independent Frame Benefit kicks off this Saturday and runs through June 25th— featuring an auction that includes frames of special significance by key CFDA members among them.

The participating CFDA eyewear designers are Christian Roth of Christian Roth and Optical Affairs; Gai Gherardi of l.a.Eyeworks; Jeff Press of Morgenthal Frederics; Selima Salaun of Selima Optique; Patty Perreira of Barton Perreira, and Blake Kuwahara of Blake Kuwahara Eyewear are all participating in the benefit, which is presented by Tarrence Lackran, and supports The Vision Council’s Opening Your Eyes Scholarship (OYES).  They join 16 other brands in supporting scholarships and paid internships to high school seniors from marginalized communities who have an interest in pursuing a career in the optical industry.

“I chose the theme See & Be Seen because it illustrates the need for more representation of people of color in our industry,” said Lackran, who is the vice president of Community Relations – Diversity & Inclusion at Luxury Optical Holdings. “People of all backgrounds should be able to peer into our industry and see themselves represented in ECP’s, executives, marketing, and products. I look forward to engaging these designers and hearing about why the frame they donated is of special significance and why they are willing to part with it for this important cause. Any of the winning bidders on these frames will receive a piece of eyewear history that they can be proud of.”

The frames include styles that are unique and were never releases; discontinued; or defining an eyewear moment. Bidding kicks off on Saturday at 3:00 PM EST at 32auctions.com/seeandbeseen.

Christian Roth and his partner Eric Domege also donated a signed and numbered diptych serigraph from their 1991 collaboration with Christopher Makos.

All proceeds go to OYES.

“OYES is very close to our hearts,” CFDA member Christian Roth said. “We have always been perturbed about these rampant inequalities, and are thankful to be invited to take part since the beginning. In the midst of the pandemic, Tarrence took the incredible task to spearhead this initiative. At this year’s benefit, even more independent eyewear designers will donate to help support education of future opticians. Bravo Tarrence! And proud of our industry.”